This invention relates to systems for remotely controlling the operation of vehicles and more particularly to an improved, compact and transportable system for generating electromagnetic pulses for disabling target vehicles.
Virtually everyday, law enforcement personnel are faced with the dilemma of having to stop a moving vehicle whose occupants are trying to avoid apprehension. While many times, the occupants realize the futility of the chase and stop of their own volition, a significant number of such chases end in tragedy with the officer, suspect or innocent bystander being seriously injured or killed.
Prior systems have been proposed to combat such problems including the installation of special receivers in motor vehicles which when remotely energized from a chase vehicle will either disable or slow the fleeing vehicle enabling apprehension. Systems of this nature are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,878,050; 4,849,735; 4,619,231; and 3,112,004. Such systems require vehicle manufacturers to include extra remotely controllable electrical systems in the vehicles they manufacture or the voluntary addition of such accessories by vehicle owners. In practice, such requirements are not realistic and even if adopted could be readily circumvented. Accordingly, a need remains for compact, readily transportable systems, mountable in pursuit vehicle for directing signals to a fleeing vehicle which will of themselves disable the fleeing vehicle enabling apprehension of its occupants with minimal risk to bystanders, occupants and law enforcement officers.
Recently, reports have issued concerning the disablement of motor vehicles during electrical storms and in response to artificially generated electromagnetic signals. However, the means currently available for artificially generating such signals are extremely large, complicated and expensive and have been included only in stationary experimental research facilities where tests have been conducted on various consumer electronic items to determine their susceptibility to fast rise time electromagnic pulses (Emps). The report "Consumer Electronics Testing to Fast-Rise EMP (VEMPS II Development)"; HDL-TR-2149, June 1989, V. Ellis, U.S. Army Laboratory Command, Harry Diamond Laboratories, Adelphi, Md., contains the data from such tests.
To date, systems for generating electromagnetic pulses have not been developed in a compact transportable form capable of generating sufficient energy to disable electronic systems controlling vehicles and hence disabling a moving target vehicle. The present invention satisfies such continuing and important needs.